After a strong survey seven,which saw ABC Radio Melbourne breakfast host Sammy J,his show experienced a similar drop with almost two percentage points wiped off,falling back to an 8.2 per cent share.
With its line-up locked in for 2024,audiences turned away from 774,with new drive host Ali Moore falling from a 7.3 to 5.6 per cent share. Raf Epstein surrendered a strong first performance by dropping back to 7.9 per cent in the mornings slot.
While 3AW posted a 13.6 per cent share,second place in the market was shared by Fox and Gold – both posting 10.3 per cent – the latter finishing on a low,dropping 2.1 points after a strong year.
In the key breakfast slot,after signing a new long-term contract in November,Gold’sThe Christian O’Connell Showsuffered the largest setback. It dropped 2.5 per cent to a 9 per cent share,some distance off the top FM competitors. Fox’sFifi,Fev&Nick, finished the year on a high note of 10.6 per cent,despite a minor drop.
Also signing a new long-term deal was who will offer a significant shake-up when they arrive in Melbourne in the new year. As a result,there was no room left for the station’s Melbourne breakfast hosts Jason Hawkins and Lauren Phillips,who left with some momentum,finishing up 1.1 points with a 9.1 per cent share,edging out O’Connell for third overall at breakfast.
Top of the breakfast pile once again was 3AW’s Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft with a dominant 18.1 per cent share – a 7.5 percentage point lead over its nearest rival,Fox. On the same station,with a 16.3 per cent share,topping the mornings slot as he hung up his headphones for the final time as a talkback host.
Elsewhere on the ABC network,Triple J,growing its share by 0.4 points to a 4.1 per cent share,while NewsRadio (up 0.4 to 1.8) and ABC Classic (up 0.7 to 2.1) also showed green shoots.
Radio National held steady,moving from 2.1 to a 2 per cent share as the ratings period came to a close. RN breakfast host Patricia Karvelas offered a positive finish to the year,up 0.9 points to a 3.3 per cent share.
Gold’sDave ‘Higgo’ Higginsfell off the pace at drive,dropping 1.6 points to 9.7 while Fox’s nationalCarrie&Tommytopped the lot with an 11.4 share,despite a minor dip.
The categorisations for time slots by the ratings agency do not always perfectly align with show times.
3AW is owned by Nine,which also owns this masthead.